November 14th - November 18th
Dear Parents,
It was so nice to see all of the parents who attended parent-teacher conferences this week. It is always such a reaffirming, positive experience to be able to sit down with parents and talk with them. The home-school relationship is a powerful collaboration and is one of our strengths as a community. Remember that we value parent-teacher communication throughout the year and we always welcome emails, phone calls, and in-person meetings, so please be encouraged to reach out at any time.
This week we started practicing gratitude in our Middle School. As part of Homeroom, students and teachers will write in their gratitude journals twice a week for the rest of the school year. There are many benefits to gratitude journaling and we look forward to seeing all of us benefit from the practice.
What is gratitude journaling?
Gratitude journaling is the habit of recording and reflecting on things for which you are grateful.
Why are we gratitude journaling?
Gratitude journaling helps you re-wire your brain to focus more on the positive aspects of your life and build up resistance against negative situations.
What are the benefits of gratitude journaling?
The benefits of Gratitude journaling include increased happiness, positive mood, more satisfaction with life, less materialism, better physical health, less likely to experience burnout, better sleep, less fatigue, greater patience, more humility, and greater wisdom.
When will we write in our gratitude journals?
On most weeks, we will write in our gratitude journals on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Homeroom, but sometimes the days will change.
What will we write in our gratitude journals?
Each time we write in our gratitude journals, we may write about things for which we feel grateful or thankful. Some of our gratitude topics may include family, friends, pets, acts of kindness or caring, gifts, surprises, or anything for which we feel grateful or thankful.
Who will read our gratitude journals?
Each person’s gratitude journal is private and no one will read journal entries without permission. Sometimes the teachers may ask volunteers to share journal entries, and it is up to individuals if they want to share.
We know that dedicating a few minutes to gratitude a couple of times per week is an excellent investment that will lower stress, help us have better relationships, help us gain a better understanding of ourselves, and help us truly focus on the things that matter in our lives. It is amazing to think that all 138 students and 14 faculty members in our Middle School are on this path together!
Kind regards,
Jack Cargile
Head of Middle School
Carpool Notes from the Administration
Dear Families,
Hancock Day School prides itself on the strength of our home and school-community partnership. One vital element of our partnership is the shared responsibility for our arrival procedures.
Safe and smooth arrival to school each day is of great importance to Hancock Day School; our goal is to provide the most effective and safe exchange of students from your vehicle to our classrooms. To that end, it is imperative that we receive your cooperation, patience, and thoughtfulness concerning the protocols that have been implemented. In addition, we have made a slight change to the morning carpool drop-off time to ensure that students are able to be in their homerooms by 8:15 am when the school day begins.
When students arrive at school, there are daily routines in place to prepare them for the day. Students really need some transition time to unpack their bags, greet their teachers and friends, use the restroom, sharpen pencils, etc… In addition, homerooms are a crucial time for students to receive important information for the day ahead. If a student arrives later than 8:10, he/she will be rushed, and likely miss out on information needed for a successful start to the day.
· Drop-off will run from 7:30 until 8:10 am. From 7:30 to 7:55, middle school students who are dropped off at White Gate will wait in Hancock Hall, unless there is a need to meet with a teacher. At 7:55, regular carpool at all gates will begin. We encourage you to take advantage of this early arrival option.
· Students may not arrive before 7:30 am.
· A bell will ring at 8:10 am to indicate that carpool is ending. All students should be out of their cars at this point.
· At 8:15, a second bell will ring, indicating the start of the school day. Teachers will no longer unload cars.
· Middle school children may get out of a vehicle without an adult present after 8:10. However, the student will be responsible for checking into the middle school office so that they can be marked tardy with Mrs. Mannarino.
In addition, please review the expectations outlined in our handbook:
o DESIGNATED DRIVING LANES
o NO CELL PHONE USE (State Law)
o NO LEFT TURNS OUT OF OUR CAMPUS (During Carpool Hours)
o PLEASE USE YOUR INDICATORS WHEN TURNING
o NO SPEEDING
o BE AWARE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL BE ON CAMPUS FROM TIME TO TIME AND WILL NOT HESITATE TO GIVE YOU A TICKET IF YOU VIOLATE IT.
We appreciate your cooperation and partnership.
HDS Administration
Library News!
ASSESSMENTS AND PROJECTS CALENDAR
Parents and students have an easy way to look at upcoming assessments and projects. THIS LINK leads to a Google Sheet that will have the next 2 weeks of assessments. The link below will lead to the 6th grade assessments, but by using the tabs in the lower left corner (shown below), you can navigate to 7th grade and 8th grade assessments, as well.
Different subjects will appear in different colors:
History is black, Science is green, ELA is blue, Spanish is red, and Math is pink.
Please bear in mind that Middle School Assessments may be added, removed, or changed at any time. This Sheet will always be up to date, however - once a teacher assigns or adjusts an assessment, this Sheet will reflect that change.
Each middle school student is required to complete ten hours of community service over the course of the school year. Please remember to list hours worked on a daily basis, do not log the total sum of hours worked over an extended period of time. See below for a few upcoming service opportunities. Click HERE for a log form or see Mrs. Mannarino in the office.
As Learning Coach, I work with students, parents, and teachers to offer support and strategies throughout the year. Please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance to you and your child/ren. I will share ideas and strategies often in this space. My email is: tguggenheim@hancockdayschool.org. My phone extension is 327.
I look forward to working with you!
Tricia Guggenheim
#9. How Much Do We Need to Read?
Read through related sections of your textbook, but don’t read every word. Read headings, diagrams, and captions to photos and illustrations to get started. Set your timer and spend one 30-minute block reviewing a textbook chapter. Your enhanced comprehension will help you sail through your homework.
Have you enthusiastically asked your student how their day was at school to be met with an unenthusiastic “fine”? Or, have you asked your student what they learned at school and they responded “nothing”?
You are not alone. Getting middle school students to talk about their day can be like pulling teeth. However, this article has some good tips and conversation starters to lead to meaningful after school discussions.
Check out this quick read: How to Get Your Child to Talk About School
Please feel free to get in touch with me at amaher@hancockdayschool.org if you have any questions or concerns.
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
Students have a quiz Tues/Wed sections 4.7, 5.1, 5.2. They will review in class Monday. Students will have two sections left in this unit. They will assess again after Thanksgiving.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete the first part of Chapter 11 by practicing rationalizing the denominator, having a quiz on 11.2 on Tuesday, having a day of review on Wednesday, and the 11.1-11.2 test on Friday.
GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Geometry, we will complete Chapter 4 by having the Chapter 4 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 5 by discovering the Midsegment Theorem (5.1) and exploring special line segments in triangles such as perpendicular bisectors and the circumcenter (5.2), and angle bisectors and the incenter (5.3). We will then have a quiz on 5.1-5.3 on Friday.
ELA - Mrs. Boyer
We have begun our deep dive into Shakespeare!!! Students are currently reading the play over the next few days. If they miss any classes this week, they will be responsible for reading the text on their own. IT IS CRITICAL THAT STUDENTS KEEP UP WITH THIS WORKBOOK. THEY WILL NEED TO KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES IN THE YEARS TO COME!!
Although we will be reading/acting out the entire play IN CLASS, it is critical that your child reread each scene as their work through the workbook pages. Shakespeare is challenging, but incredibly transformative to the mind if done right. I need the students to truly complete their homework each night to be prepared for activities, POP quizzes, assessments, projects and writing assignments. Students are also expected to come in early to **check** their annotations compared to mine. :)
Assessments:
Quiz 11/18 Act I & II
TEST 11/30 (E) - 12/1 (C & F) Act I & II
***In 8th grade it is critical that students need to be completing their homework each night. This is a KEY component to success for 8th ELA. POP Quizzes are continuing…Students are learning that it is critical for students to annotate their books in regards to characters and key details. For students to do well on these assessments, please use the following strategies:
Read and annotate (check annotations with Mrs. Boyer’s book).
Ask for practice questions
Come in and practice writing prompts
Spend a solid 30 minutes each night on reading, review, etc.
**Students are currently writing in an ELA specific journal. This journal will be a critical piece throughout the year. I would highly encourage students to take very good care of this journal as it will be extremely helpful as they venture on to high school.**
PHYSICAL SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
This unit continues to be a lot of review of previous concepts we have learned which I think will be helpful. We worked on a lab this week to further investigate endothermic and exothermic reactions that the students seemed to really enjoy. Again, we are continuing to work toward one of the more challenging concepts in chemistry so I encourage students to be on top of it with reviewing notes EACH night.
For improvement in test scores: rewriting notes, making flashcards, or simply quizzing themselves on information from that day would help immensely. It really only takes 15-20 minutes and is a skill they should begin building. I expect them to be doing this each night regardless if they have science homework or not.
SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
The students participated so well in our bachata dance lesson this week! A lot of students were apprehensive at first but then really started to enjoy themselves! I was so impressed how quickly they caught on (photos below). This week, students will present their music and dance projects (project due dates: A/D Blocks Tuesday; B Block Wed) and we have a QUIZ on verbs. Please make sure your students are studying their verb flashcards! We have lots of irregular verbs!
REMINDER: Students have received a lot of material so far…they should be studying vocab ON THEIR OWN AT HOME 10-15 minutes/day! Flashcards are HIGHLY recommended!
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
The trimester is quickly drawing to an end -a shout out to all of the students who finished off strong by meeting the late-work deadline! Looking forward to the next trimester!
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
The students participated so well in our bachata dance lesson this week! A lot of students were apprehensive at first but then really started to enjoy themselves! I was so impressed how quickly they caught on.This week, students will present their music and dance projects (project due dates: E Blocks Tuesday; C Block Wed) and we have a QUIZ on verbs! We will also learn the “Pavo Pavito” dance (little turkey dance). Please make sure your students are studying their verb flashcards! We have lots of irregular verbs!
REMINDER: Students have received a lot of material so far…they should be studying vocab ON THEIR OWN AT HOME 10-15 minutes/day! Flashcards are HIGHLY recommended!
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
Students have a quiz Tues/Wed sections 4.7, 5.1, 5.2. They will review in class Monday. Students will have two sections left in this unit. They will assess again after Thanksgiving.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete the first half of Chapter 4 by learning how to find the least common multiple (LCM) of numbers and monomials (4.4). We will have a day of review and the 4.1-4.4 test on Wednesday (E Block) or Thursday (C Block).
ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer
Students have embraced the concept of IDEA BASED WRITING! They seem to be enjoying digging deeper into texts, using the Children’s Book The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. We are still working to answer our essential question, What are stories truly about?, as we practice close reading strategies in our reading of the text.
Next week, we will dive into our second picture book, Patchwork by Matt De La Pena, and follow the same format. Students will read through, pick out the true meaning, discuss possible lenses and examples, and write a thesis statement. We will begin to lead students through how to navigate this process independently. This will also take one week.
Then, we will dive into our third text, a video text where students will independently follow the format to build their ideas, organize their opinion, and write their thesis statement. This will also take about a week.
Lastly, students will choose from four picture books where they will be asked to write a five paragraph essay using this format. This will be about two weeks.
This will be a bridge to our Book Club Unit beginning in January: Voices of the World.
**Mrs. Boyer and Mrs. Tucker (5th) have used this writing format and have seen drastic changes in their students. They were taught this writing format this summer as they attended the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York for their Writing & Reading Workshop.**
Assessments:
QUIZ over Thesis Statements: Friday Nov 18th
TEST over Idea Based Writing Thursday December 1st
PROJECT Part 1- Idea Based Writing Due Dec. 6th
PROJECT Part 2- Idea Based Writing Due Dec 9th
Students are highly encouraged to come in for extra help if they are having any difficulty with any assignment. Mrs. Buchner and Mrs. Boyer are available weekday mornings from 7:45 am to 8:15 am.
Strategies for Home:
-Students should be studying for the quiz and test a little each night. Students retain information much better if they study along the way, rather than cramming the night before a test.
-All homework assignments are in Google Calendar and Our Weekly Google Slide Presentation.
-Students should be coming in from 7:45-8:15 am to review/ask questions/work on their homework.
Exam: December 14th or 15th
The 7th grade ELA Exam will revolve around reading a short story, diving into the literary devices within the story, creating a written response based on the Writing Unit previously taught. Students will receive the story ONE week ahead of the exam.
**As students continue into their 7th grade year, it is imperative that they keep up with their reading, annotate their novels, and come in for extra help. The foundation of this class is heavily based on student reading and the sharing of ideas; students will need to participate to be able to engage with the material in a productive manner. All class activities are based on the reading completed prior to class time.
LIFE SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant
Next week in Life Science, we will wrap up our unit on Mitosis. Students will have a test on Thursday, November 17. We will then begin our unit of Genetics and Inherited Traits. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials.
US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. If the students lived at the time of the American Revolution, would they be a Loyalist, Patriot or Neutralist? We will discuss the causes of the Revolution and they will complete in-class project on choosing which side they would take. The project will be based on selecting a proverb and relating it their decision….check it out!!!
US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in American History we continue our focus on the 13 Colonies. Students will study the reasons the colonies were founded and investigate the challenges each colony had. Students will examine more closely how slavery developed and the horrific impacts it had on the growing colonies.
ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor
Students will learn one more strategy for GCF and LCM and continue with the last three sections on this unit. These sections include decimals and fractions (4.5-4.7). No assessments will be given the week before Thanksgiving.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete the first half of Chapter 4 by learning how to find the least common multiple (LCM) of numbers and monomials (4.4). We will have a day of review and the 4.1-4.4 test on Thursday.
EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant
Next week in Earth Science, students will begin their Energy unit. We have a full week beginning with comparing potential energy to kinetic energy, then investigating different forms of energy. They will apply what they’ve learned about the different forms of energy by participating in an energy lab. We will wrap up the week by comparing different types of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. There will be a quiz on Energy, on Friday, November 18 on Potential & Kinetic Energy and Forms of Energy. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials.
EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
We are finishing up our Weather unit before moving onto a unit on Energy. We will have a fun energy lab and end with talking about different sources of energy. We will have a quiz on Energy next Friday (11/18). Please continue to check Google Classroom and reviewing notes each night!
ELA - Mrs. Buchner
We have begun our IDEA BASED WRITING unit. This week the format was introduced to students. We didn’t have homework this week due to the short week. Students will begin to have a bit of homework starting next week, but it will not be as heavy as in previous weeks. Students will be exploring the children’s books: Areli is a Dreamer by Areli Morales and Coffee Rabbit Snowdrop Lost by Betina Birkjaer. We will dig deeper into the text to explore the emotions and actions of the characters and the details and big messages of the themes in the both books, so they can build a well-constructed thesis statement next week. We will have a quiz at the end of next week on thesis statements.
The following week students will have progressed to being able to analyze a short story on their own. They will be assessed on this using the short story as the text, for a test grade. Students will be expected to be able to conduct close reading practices, as well as develop a thesis statement on the test.
The first week of December will be the culmination of the unit. Students will have a choice of texts to analyze through close reading, then they will work on writing an essay about their observations focusing on character and theme.
Students will continue to receive Classwork grades for their daily notes. Homework assignments can be found in your student’s Google Calendar, as well as the weekly Google Slide Presentation in their ELA Google Classroom. Students are highly encouraged to come in for help in the mornings from 7:45-8:15 a.m. I am unavailable on Wednesdays from 7:45 to 8:00 a.m. due to carpool duty. On occasion, I will announce a 7:30 a.m. tutorial on a given morning if I see students are struggling with the content. This will appear in the Google Classroom stream. You can also email me if you would like for your student to have a longer tutorial starting at 7:30 a.m.
Upcoming Assessments:
Idea Based Writing Quiz- Friday November 18th (study notes)
Idea Based Writing Test-Tuesday November 29th
Idea Based Writing Project Part 1-Due December 2nd
Idea Based Writing Project Part 2- Due December 7th
Exam: December 14th or 15th
The 6th grade ELA Exam will revolve around reading a short text (short story or children’s book), diving into the literary devices within the story, creating a written response based on the Writing Unit previously taught. Students will receive the story ONE week ahead of the exam.
INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown
The trimester is quickly drawing to an end -a shout out to all of the students who finished off strong by meeting the late-work deadline! Looking forward to the next trimester!
WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in World History students will move on from their study of Ancient Greece and travel over to Rome to examine how the Roman Republic was created and its impacts on the ancient world. Reminder- we will continue to pick up the pace in World History. Students will need to keep up with their readings and review outlines daily in order to keep pace.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ART - Mrs. Bryne
Good Day HDS community! I hope you have enjoyed seeing the artwork that has been sent home and posted to the Artsonia galleries. In one week the parent connection on Artsonia soared from 30% to 77%. This effort is remarkable in just one Trimester, thank you! Because of this effort, Artsonia has awarded HDS with 30 free prints to redeem by May.
In the studio, students have started the Gratitude for the Five Senses Unit with compositions of taste. Using prior knowledge of value students are applying a tasty color application to the illustrations of food. Sixth graders are showing some gratitude and Georgia pride by illustrating peaches. Seventh grade expands watercolor application sandwiches and sweet treats. Eighth graders are applying surface texture with tempera paint down to the smallest of sesame seeds! Speaking of eighth grade and small seeds, an “Artist Buddy” partnership with Ms. Gilpin’s Pre-K sprouted last week with 8th graders hosting a nature walk on campus. The Art Buddy teams gathered natural objects, created a radial design and returned the natural objects to location. We will buddy again in Trimester ll. Use this Artsonia pdf to access the publishing of artwork!
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